JERICHO, N.Y. -- Convenience-store real-estate owner Getty Realty Corp. has made “a significant amount” of progress on repositioning its portfolio this year, president and CEO Chris Constant told REIT.com, the publication of the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (NAREIT).
Getty continues to reduce the number of transitional properties that it wants to lease, sell or redevelop, Constant said, but it also is expanding its tenant base and geographic reach. The company is also active in redeveloping certain properties in attractive markets, he said.
C-store sales, excluding gasoline, are up about 6% annually during the past 10 years, while margins on convenience products are averaging about 35%, according to Constant.
“Miles driven are up, consumer spending is up, job growth is up and unemployment is stable. From our side of the fence, we feel pretty good about where the economy is heading,” he said.
During a May 2015 earnings call, then-Getty CEO David Driscoll talked about growth.
“We like our home markets in the East Coast and the Northeast, but we are also open to expanding our reach outside that region to increase the size of our national footprint,” said the executive, who retired in December 2015.
“We’re looking for growth markets,” he said. “We are keenly focused on geographic regions showing the fastest population growth on a long term. Our acquisitions pipeline is full with potential opportunities, but we will remain thoughtful and deliberate in our approach. … We want to target high-density markets that have high barriers to entry, strong traffic counts and healthy operating results at the unit level.”
Jericho, N.Y.-based Getty Realty is a publicly traded REIT specializing in the ownership, leasing and financing of convenience-store and gasoline-station properties. Its 835 properties are located in 23 states across the United States and Washington, D.C., under a variety of brands including 76, Aloha, BP, CITGO, Conoco, Exxon, Getty, Mobil, Shell and Valero.
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